Abbott 1 Ashley Abbott CATCHING UP TO SPEED WITH NEAL REID Journalist Neal Reid Takes New Opportunities To Pursue Dreams “Covering a gold medal Olympic race where there are more than 16,000 screaming fans and you have four minutes to get the story done—that’s an adrenaline rush you don’t get at other jobs. You want to work in journalism and public relations for those moments, those adrenaline rushes,” said Neal Reid. Life has always been lived in the fast lane for Neal Reid, both figuratively and literally. As a 1998 journalism graduate from Auburn University, Reid works as a sports journalist and media relations specialist. His resume is extensive and unique with former jobs covering everything from professional rodeos, Olympic games, NFL practices and national golf tournaments. Reid currently serves as the media relations manager for the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where he manages all of the speedway’s publications. Reid is an anomaly among most journalists because of his charisma, public speaking abilities and passion for media relations. As an undergraduate journalism student at Auburn University, Reid wrote articles about various Auburn sports teams for The Associated Press, USA Today Online and The Madison County Record newspaper. Reid’s love for working with the media grew from his experience working in the Auburn Media Relations Department as a student assistant and as a media relations specialist for the Alabama Golf Association. This firm foundation in writing prepared Reid for a successful career in journalism and allowed him an advantage in working with the media.
2 “It’s great to have public relations and journalism experience because half of public relations is answering questions that you know they’re going to ask before they ask it,” said Reid. “From the journalism side, a good public relations person is worth their weight in gold if they can write well because it can make a journalist’s job so much easier.” After graduating from Auburn University, Reid took a position as an intern in the Communications Department for the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA). The internship eventually lead to his promotion to the senior media relations coordinator of the LPGA. “I am proof that internships pay off, so stick with it,” said Reid. “If you’re good enough some places might even create a job for you.” While working more than 60 golf tournaments, Reid was running on-site media center operations at each site. He wrote hundreds of press releases and media alerts, as well as articles for LPGA.com. According to Reid, the writing experience he gained at the LPGA was valuable even though the extensive and consistent workload became mundane after a few years. Reid’s decision to leave the LPGA came after he was offered a job as the managing editor for the ProRodeo Sports News, official magazine of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. The switch from covering quiet and reserved golf tournaments to loud and dangerous rodeo competitions was drastic yet exhilarating for Reid. He immersed himself in rodeo culture in order to learn everything about the sport and quickly became one of the leading writers for the rodeo community.
Abbott 3 Ashley Abbott Reid’s position with the ProRodeo Sports News allowed him with the opportunity to freelance sports articles for other major companies such as ESPN.com, The Associated Press, WashingtonPost.com, LPGA.com, USAToday.com, along with others. He had the freedom to write feature stories about topics that he loved and made connections with other writers and editors from across the country. “It’s amazing how it can spider web: who you know and you being a legit writer--it’s a dynamite combination,” said Reid. Reid was offered the chance to cover Peyton Manning’s first practice with the Denver Broncos and have his work published in the NFL section of USAToday.com. A contact Reid had made in the rodeo community connected him with a media coordinator at the US Olympic Training Center. The training center representative offered Reid a position as a sports writer for the Olympic and Paralympic News Service, covering the 2014 Sochi Olympics in Russia for nine weeks. The next great adventure for Reid is the racetrack. He serves as the media relations manager for the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, working to publicize events, manage social media, maintain the speedway’s website and oversee all publications. Few journalists will ever have the impressive resume or experience that Reid has accumulated over the past 20 years. Aspiring journalism and public relations students can learn from Reid’s work ethic and motivation to pursue his passions in life. His writing is based on the mindset that life is beautiful in its complication—he does not try to simplify the truth or hard facts. Reid believes that readers should decide for themselves what they want to think about an article.
4 While Reid is a role model for many, he is eager to point out that his success was not created overnight. He has an incredible career behind him and an even brighter future before him. “Experience is your greatest teacher, do everything you can—your experience will lead you to so many other things,” said Reid. ###